The Nation Newspaper

Tag: OSUN

  • Osun education strides PERSPECTIVE

    Education, as they say, is the bedrock of any nation. This axiom has gained traction in the modest efforts of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the State of Osun. In all ramifications, the state towers over others in addressing the educational needs of its people.

    This is in spite the fact that Osun ranks 34th among the 36 states of the Federation on the revenue allocation table. Ogbeni reasons that “the only way to conquer and banish abject poverty from humanity is through conscious education of the mind towards productive engagement, which in turn will trigger creativity and productivity that will meet the basic needs of man”. This is more so with the recent United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) report which says 10.5 million Nigerian children have no access to basic education.

    If there is any sector Aregbesola holds tenaciously dear to his heart since his assumption of office, it is the education sector and its composite development such that it would meet the yearnings of, and be accessible to every inhabitant of the state.

    Interestingly, his effort has yielded tremendous result with the renovation of dilapidated schools structures and building of model schools to replace the decrepit ones. Since then, pupils and parents alike have been applauding the governor.

    The governor has committed billions of naira into the elementary and middle school buildings, which will each accommodate 900 pupils. The high school buildings will have capacity for 3,000 pupils. The state has almost delivered 100 of such buildings at the elementary, 50 at the middle, and 20 at the High school levels – making a total of 170 in all – in his first term in office.

    The Middle Level is from Primary Four to Junior Secondary School 3 (JSS 111) (now classified as Grades 5 to 9), for pupils aged between 10 and 14. At the High School Level, the age range is between 15 and 17 years for Senior Secondary School I-III pupils, to be known as Grades 10-12. The schools have been designed so that residents, groups, organisations, or individuals, religions or interest would not suffer as a result of the school reform.

    The reforms are aimed at meeting UNESCO’s standard for compulsory education by 2030 and to eliminate excruciating poverty.

    Apart from building structures, the Governor has employed some 3,000 women who have been cooking for the elementary school feeding programme. This is in addition to the programme boosting the production capacities of farmers and suppliers of farm produce, as well as poultry farmers and cattle rearers to supply the food for the menu. The pupils eat eggs, chickens, fish and red meat to enable them meet nutritional requirements for mental development.

    In addition to the free education policy of the state government where the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB ) are paid for, Governor Aregbesola has established Omoluabi Garment Factory in the state which caters for school uniform needs of the pupils across the state. With this, parents who would have otherwise bothered themselves about school uniforms for their wards have swiftly enrolled them in schools across the state without buying uniform for them since it has been provided for by government.

    For his noble strides and enduring legacy in the education sector, Aregbesola was honoured by the Yoruba Education Trust Fund, (YETFUND), two months ago, as the best governor of the year in the Southwest – nay Nigeria – who has dedicated the largest chunk of his budgetary allocation to the promotion and development of education for actual growth of the Yoruba people in particular, in so short a time.

    The group singled out the award winning Opon Imo (Tablet of Knowledge) as the basis for the award. The technology wonder is in a class of its own. The tablet is preloaded with 17 subjects examined in the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) in forms of lesson notes, textbooks, mostly provided by publishers and master teachers’ input. Content verifiers, who happened to be some of the local teachers, were also made to verify lesson notes on each subject. Besides, seven extra-curricular subjects, such as Sexuality Education, Civic Education, Yoruba History, Ifa Traditional Religion, Computer Education and Entrepreneurship Education, and 12,000 Yoruba Proverbs were also included.

    The device also allows pupils to assess themselves through the e-testing platform with which they can solve 10 years of past questions for the examinations conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and WAEC. Audio tutorials further aid students through virtual study plan.

    The state saved a whopping N8.4 billion for hard copy textbook as just N200 million was spent to purchase the 56 e-books on Opon-Imo with 150,000 user licences from a major educational publishing company from the country.

    As it is structured, the Opon-Imo ensures that each pupil has an e-textbook, not only in all the subjects he is taking, but also on every subject offered at secondary level. This, in itself, is legendary and revolutionary!

    A report in October by the African Health, Human and Social Development Information Service, Africa Coalition on Maternal Newborn and Child Health and Pan African Campaign against Forced Marriage of Under-age Children gives credit to the state.

    “Among the 36 states in Nigeria four states – Osun, Lagos, Imo, Enugu – feature in the all-best categories for all indicators: highest girl-child education, highest female literacy, lowest adolescent girl ‘marriages’ and lowest underage birth rates”.

    There is no gain saying that it is on the basis of Aregbesola’s commitment to educational development that school enrolment has increased and students have recorded improved performance in both WASSCE and JAMB.

    However, it is clear that there is a lot more to be done with the poor WAEC results released a few days ago that falls short of UNESCO standard.

    The council withheld results of 38,260 candidates, representing 12.88 per cent, over alleged examination malpractice and sundry issues. Yet, for anyone to gain admission into the tertiary institution in the country, you must obtain at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics in WASSCE or Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the examination body.

    The situation in the nation’s basic education system, as well as tertiary institutions calls for national emergency or requires a call to emulate Governor Aregbesola who has devoted a huge chunk of the state’s resource for educational development of Osun people. We await such a time in Nigeria when the plight of the electorate form the fulcrum of governance, as witnessed in the state of Osun.

    •Ikhide writes from Lagos.

     

  • Medical mission breathes life into Osun rural community

    Medical mission breathes life into Osun rural community

    Imesi-Ile in Obokun Local Government Area of Osun State recently came alive when some medical experts from the United States visited the sleepy and an agrarian community to attend to some of its ailing residents.

    Hundreds of people, even far beyond the community’s borders, besieged the town’s almost disused health facility, which is under the management of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife.

    It was a very rare opportunity for the residents of the community, who are suffering from various life-threatening diseases and ailments to come forward for cure – all for free.

    Dr. Remi Saseun, an indigene who lives in the United States, led 24 medical personnel, including doctors, theatre nurses, surgeons, laboratory scientists and pharmacists, for the exercise.

    According to Saseun, the medical personnel were in the country under the aegis of the Association of Medical Physicians in America (AMPA). He said the immediate past medical intervention of the association was in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Saseun, who disclosed that more than N8 million was expended on medication for the five-day free mission, said two resident doctors and a matron in the health facility joined them to treat the people.

    He said they spent extra thousands of naira in procuring anti-malaria drugs from Nigeria because in the United States people don’t have malaria and, therefore, no drugs for such disease in that country. Within three days of the programme, 921 patients were treated. There were 46 surgeries.

    On top of the list of ailments treated were eye problems, such as cataract, diabetes, high blood pressure and hypertension as well as arthritis.

    The officials of the hospitals declined comment because they said they were not authorised to speak but few of the patients expressed joy for the mission which they said had restored their hope and helped them overcome some of their health challenges.

    For instance,  Kehinde Adesiyan, an indigene of the town, lamented that there was no functional government hospital in the community to treat ailments, saying they most times travel as far as Osogbo, Ilesa and Ile-Ife before the residents could receive medical attention for their ailments.

    A refrigerator technician in the community, Peter Aluko; a petty trader, Madam Eunice Esan and a retired civil servant, Pa Adebowale Ajiboye, said they had tremendously benefitted from the medical mission.

    The Secretary of the Imesi-Ile Progressive Association, Pa Jacob Babajide Awowale said, that the people would always be grateful to God and those behind the initiative, particularly, Dr. Remi Saseun.

    However, he joined Dr. Saseun to appeal to governments, both at the state and local government levels, to come to the aid of the people in the rural areas and ensure that they have access to medical care like those in the urban communities.

    “What will  make a big difference in the lives of the people in the rural areas is very small and if various authorities can help these people, their quality of lives would improve and it would make them contribute significantly to national development,” Saseun advised.

     

  • Aregbesola, Osun APC urge Muslims to pray for Nigeria

    Aregbesola, Osun APC urge Muslims to pray for Nigeria

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and the state’s chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have urged Nigerians to pray for the restoration of peace in the country.

    In a goodwill message by his Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the governor advised the nation’s leaders to emulate Prophet Mohammad, a selfless political and religious leader.

    Aregbesola urged Muslims to submit to the will of Allah and pray for the country to overcome its insecurity.

    The governor advised Muslims to be tolerant and love all, irrespective of their religious beliefs.

    He advised Nigerians to reflect on the ideals of peace, unity, harmony and selflessness.

    Aregbesola said: “I urge all Muslims to continue to follow the leadership of Prophet Mohammad.

    “The Prophet lived a life worthy of emulation. Those who imbibe such leadership style and qualities would enjoy the essence of life.

    “Our administration will bring change in Osun.

    “I enjoin Muslims to cultivate the habit and imbibe the spirit of peaceful co-existence and be their brother’s keeper.”

    The Interim Chairman of APC in Osun, Mr Adebiyi Adelowo, urged the residents to rededicate themselves to peaceful coexistence, which Prophet Mohammed taught and lived for.

    In a goodwill message yesterday, Adelowo noted that the hallmark of Islam, which Allah sent the Prophet to propagate, is love.

    He noted that the message is devoid of violence, malice, hatred or man’s inhumanity to man.

    Adelowo said: “The love that Islam teaches, as all other religions, emphasises on care for the less privileged and giving.

    “Only the peaceful, the thoughtful, the generous and the kind-hearted could attain this height of love that Mohammad taught.

    “It is not only a goal for Muslims but also for everyone, who shares in this philosophy.”

  • Osun council bosses defend shake-up

    Osun council bosses defend shake-up

    The Forum of Local Government Chairmen (Mandate 31) in Osun State has defended the shakeup in its leadership.

    It said it had nothing to do with any scuffle among the council bosses.

    In a statement by its Special Adviser (Administration), Adebayo Ajayi, the forum said the public had been misinformed about what actual happened in the secretariat.

    The statement said: “There is the need to clear the air on some of the half-truths and outright lies the public has been fed with; starting from the recent change in the leadership of the forum of the local government chairmen in the State of Osun to other sundry issues.

    “When 2013 was about to end, the council chairmen in their own wisdom decided that it was necessary to effect a change in its leadership so as to meet up with challenges that were before her.

    “Osun happened to be the seat of the of the South West forum of the local government chairmen and the buck stops here as far as regional integration and development of the region is concerned.

    “The need to step up effort toward the realisation of the components of the regional integration in the South West necessitated the change which its fruits are due to be seen in the New Year.”

  • Firm supports Osun with medical equipment

    Firm supports Osun with medical equipment

    A health management organisation in Nigeria, the International Health Management Services, has supported the Osun State government with world medical equipment worth millions of naira.

    IHMS (IHMS) Executive Vice Chairman Remi Olowude was represented by Dr. Michael Ogunkoya at the presentation ceremony in Osogbo, the state capital, where the equipment were handed over to the Commissioner for Health, Mrs. Temitope Ilori.

    Olowude said the company decided to support the government because of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s vision in health care delivery.

    He urged the government to provide health insurance cover for beneficiaries of the Osun State Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES).

    Olowude said: “We are here today on behalf of the board, management and staff of IHMS to identify with the determined efforts of the state government to provide the highest level of health and wellness for the generality of the people.

    “We have noted with much delight the commitment of this administration to the laudable vision of making the state the medical tourism capital of Nigeria and Africa.

    “It is our desire, as a responsive corporate citizen, to support the government to make its dream come true. It is in furtherance of this goal that we are presenting this medical equipment to the government as part of our contribution to promoting its laudable healthcare delivery initiatives for the benefit of the good people of Osun.

    “Your Excellency can rest assured that in your journey towards making the state a model, IHMS shall continue to walk the path of good corporate citizenship as your ally and reliable partner in progress. Towards this end, we will appreciate an opportunity to implement for the state a promising health insurance plan that will complement your current integrated healthcare system and which will be one of the major legacies of your administration.”

    Mrs. Ilori thanked the company and assured it that the equipment would be put to good use.

    She said the government was renovating nine state hospitals in the nine federal constituencies, nine comprehensive health centres across the state and two primary health centres in each council.

    Mrs. Ilori listed the achievements of the administration in the health sector to include the provision of 50 ambulances strategically positioned to help accident victims and the completion of a trauma centre at the State Hospital in Osogbo.

    The equipment include X-ray machines, theatre tables and surgical lamps, among others.

  • Osun supports SMEs with N500m

    The Osun State government has injected about N500 million to promote Small and Medium Scale enterprises (SMEs), the Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Empowerment, Ismaila Adekunle Jayeoba-Alagbada, has said.

    He told The Nation that the gesture is geared towards growing SMEs in the state, adding that government is building capacity as well as an enabling environment for small businesses to thrive. such as organising training in business management, succession and marketing plans.

    He said government established four departments in the state’s Micro-Credit Agency for traders, artisans and those in agriculture and administration. The Commissioner revealed that the current administration has made available 35 hectares of land to establish an academy that will serve as an incubator for unemployed youths. Youths will under the platform acquire several skills on self-employment.

    The idea according to him is to equip them with necessary skills to make them employers of labour in future.

    Furthermore,Jayeoba-Alagbada said the importance government put on reliable data for economic planning made it to embark on biometric registration of all artisans and tradesmen to adequatelycater for their needs.

    On how to ensure standards, the commissioner explained that the launch of weights and measures in all markets across the state is to maintain standard across board.

    According to him the current pragmatic administration of industrilaisation is viable as it has attracted private industrial investment to the state with the establishment of Omoluabi Garment Factory, which he said has since commenced full production.

    He said: “A Business Support Centre has been established in the state capital in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). The core activities of the centre are the enhancement of the capacity of operators of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and entrepreneurial development of unemployed graduates and youths. This is sequel to the development of industrial estates across the state.”

    He revealed that the Osogbo Industrial Estate has been fully developed and allocated to entrepreneurs. Jayeoba-Alagbada said the Ilesa industrial estate is virtually completed with all critical infrastructural facilities in place. Plots in the estate are presently being allocated to industrialists while the development of industrial estates in seven other locations across the state is in the pipeline, he added.

    The commissioner said the state government in collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BoI), under the OSSG-BoI (MSME) Fund, provides financial support to cooperatives, industrial investors and operators of micro, small and medium enterprises.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • All went well in Osun, but Aregbesola wants FG to activate emergency control centre

    All went well in Osun, but Aregbesola wants FG to activate emergency control centre

    Osun in the South West geo-political zone of the country remains a very peaceful and secured state. In 2013 there were no significant crime related events. However, there were a few cases of armed robbery, rape, arson and violent community clashes across the state.

    The state carved out of old Oyo State under the military administration of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida on August 27, 1991, is reputed to be among the most secured and peaceful states in the country. Over the years, Osun had not recorded calamitous event strong enough to be put it negatively on the national or world map.

    Early this year, the state government distributed 100 patrol pick vans to all the security agencies in the state, including the state Police Command, State Security Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, the Nigerian Immigration Service and Nigeria Customs Service to beef up security in the state. Before the distribution of these vans, the state government had procured about seven Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) and a helicopter for surveillance of the hide out of the criminals from the top. Possibly, all these provision could have reduced the criminal activities of the men of the underworld.

    The previous year, 2012, there were series of armed robbery attacks on banks in Osogbo, Ejigbo, Iwo, Ilesa, Ile-Ife and Ikirun as well as armed attack on a bureau de change at Sabo area of Osogbo, the state capital. There were also kidnappings of notable residents of the state, including a major beer distributor, Alhaji Raufu Olaiya, who spent about two weeks with his captors and later released after paying a huge ransom. So also was another major liquour distributor, Mr. Idowu Obembe, who was unlucky to have died even after his family had paid the ransom.

    During a robbery attack on a new generation bank at Osogbo,  a police man was killed when the robbers, who had earlier successfully robbed a bureau de change at Sabo area were charting a way out of town ran into a bullion van and staff of the bank doing a cash movement in front of the bank. The wife of the state House of Assembly Speaker, Muibat Salaam, in 2012 was kidnapped in Ejigbo, her husband home town while returning from her shop. She was found a week in the bush somewhere in a village in Ogun State when she was discovered in the midst of the kidnappers by a curious palm wine tapper.

    Also in 2012 there was an attack on bank at Gbongan, where the son of the Olufi of Gbongan narrowly escaped being killed by the robbers. But in 2013, all the robbery incidents recorded were mostly low profile. There were many incidents of reported and unreported burglaries, rape of minors, suicide, arsons and kidnaps. Prominent among these was the abduction of the 80 year old Ilesa-based industrialist, Chief Mrs. Yinka Obaleye, popularly known as Yinka Oba Foam. Her driver was killed while trying to beat the kidnappers. The industrialist spent about one week in the den of the kidnappers before she eventually regained freedom.

    In 2013, there were a number of communal clashes. There was one between Ido-Osun in Egbedore Local Government and Ede, where two persons reportedly lost their lives. The two communities were fighting over the land where the multi billion naira ultra modern proposed M.K.O. Abiola International Airport is being sited by the Rauf Arergbesola administration.

    Also, Oba Oke and Oba Ile are still fighting over boundary  matter. No fewer than five people have been reported killed while a chief in one of the communities is still missing. In Ilase Ijesa in Obokun Local Government Area, palace of Onilase, Oba Adesina Alobijuwon, was burnt and the 80 year old blind monarch strangled and left to die helplessly in the inferno.

    The paramount ruler of Ijesaland, Owa Adimula, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, at a point cried out about the security situation in his domain. He disclosed that no fewer than 70 motorcycles known as Okada are being snatched on a monthly and in some cases owners killed in the area.

    Governor Rauf Aregbesola is crying to the Federal Government to activate an Emergency Control Centre it has built in the state. He said he had tried to no avail to make the FG do something positive about the centre  no avail, saying it has refused to activate it in of spite all the appeals by the state government. He stated that though, the state government has its own Security Code, but without the Federal Government Security Code (112) working, that of the state cannot be made to work. He said: “We have appealed to the Federal Government to let us work together to activate the short code 112, so that our people can easily contact us in time of need, but this has proved fruitless. We are ready to take over all the financial requirements to get the centre operational but the Federal Government should come to the aid of the people of Osun to guarantee full security of our people.  We have our own security code, but without the Federal Government’s functioning, we cannot get our own to work.”

  • Still on Osun policy on education

    Still on Osun policy on education

    Saint Charles Old Boys Association (SCOBA) is always happy to partner the state government in efforts towards restoring the world-class standard of education to the public schools in the state of Osun.

    We have followed with keen interest the effort by the state government to merge and reclassify various schools in the state as a way to improve the standard of the schools. While the consolidation may be good for some schools; it should not be a wholesale action. As Alumni of Saint Charles Grammar School, Osogbo we are concerned about the impact of the merger of Saint Charles with other schools.

    Through the years, we have built, rehabilitated and refurbished many dilapidating and old infrastructure at Saint Charles Grammar School-our alma mater. We credit ourselves with construction of the Computer Center and its corresponding equipments. We have intervened on various occasions to sustain the function of the science laboratories, the school library, the potable water project, the spatial beautification among others. A Multi –Million Naira Alumni Hall and Dormitory project is currently under construction nearing completion.

    To encourage students’ interest in learning, we have instituted and maintained different awards and prizes for students and teachers. The annual prize-giving ceremonies, sponsored by corporate and individuals have been running consistently for more than three decades. The effect is not quantifiable. We keep exploring new progressive opportunities.

    In last two international conventions held in the USA, we sponsored the Principal of the school to participate with us and inform everybody on the needs and support required for the school from the Alumni.

    As a united family world-wide we pride ourselves in maintaining the guiding principle of discipline and legacy which St Charles Grammar School, Osogbo was founded in 1960. We are proud of our uniqueness and we want to keep it that way. As one big family of Old Boys, our bond is the identity and common legacy. We believe the larger society is benefiting from the same.

    To this end, we are opposed to any attempt to merge Saint Charles Grammar School with any other school.

    We are aware of high level consultation in progress through the Catholic Diocese’s Bishop Gabriel Abegunrin, our Association’s Board of Trustee and our Central Executive to seek meaningful way(s) to resolve the troubling concerns. Since 2012 that the government of the State of Osun has made public their intentions, we have continued to dialogue, yet, it has been protracted with no truce in sight. In just their first week of merger, among other reported and unreported occurrences, violent fights broke out among the host school students and the newcomers. It is disheartening that the police had to intervene for order to return. This is not a typical conducive environment for leaning.

    We the Old Boys Association (OBA Diaspora) of St. Charles Grammar School, Osogbo, is calling for a reverse of the decision to mix our school with female gender, against the long time legacy we are all proud . The legacy of our Alma Mata has bonded us as a one big family irrespective of our individual faiths. Ours being one of the first Catholic schools, since the inception every pupil is valued equally and given a genuine experience of belongingness. Due to the universal, non-discriminatory nature of Catholicism and the value it places on ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, Catholic schools are open to the admission of pupils of all faiths and St Charles Grammar School is not an exception.

    As a direct contributing stakeholder, we would be willing to help establish a smoother reversal of this decision in various ways that will enhance peaceful co-existence and eternal preservation of all concerned legacies. Our desire is to have classroom structures that are in accordance with United Nations Charter and relevant UNICEF and UNDP resolutions. This, we believe is achievable in the Osun State of today when every stakeholders in education is peacefully involved.

    The reversal of the decision to merge some public schools, back to status quo, will not only boost the effort to expand access to education, it will improve facilities and infrastructure in all other regions of the state particularly if efforts are geared towards building a new world class school to meet the challenges of expansion of the state capital. Government should note that schools are one of the major attractions of development, trades and jobs to any area. As population grows, more schools will be needed.

    Lastly, the initiative to turn around the State of Osun education is commendable considering that many other State Governments, as if in competition to outdo one another are doing the same. The reform must therefore be acceptable to majority STAKEHOLDERS particularly the parents and teachers without any political and or religious apathy.

    Osun must be at peace for quality education to thrive.

    It is our hope that the legacy that we cherished and the ones that the current Osun government will leave behind will outlive our generation and generations yet unborn.

     

    •Arogundade and Ajijolaiya are members of the Saint Charles Old Boys’ Association in the Diaspora

     

  • Osun pupils in debate contest

    Osun pupils in debate contest

    The-Bait Debate Tournament, a Community Development Service project by a group of Batch “A” National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members serving in Osun State, was held last week.

    The contest took place at the Open Forum Hall of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) at Oke Baale in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

    The Osun Central Coordinator of The-Bait, Oroghene enlightened participants on the nature of the project. He explained that the contest was divided into three stages, saying the first was an essay competition in which all high schools were invited to participate.

    The entries were pruned to nine finalists from all three districts of the state after which the second stage, a workshop followed.

    It was held in the Open forum Hall where Corps members, Omotayo Alo, Chokor and Chisom Ojukwu tutored the pupils in writing, media communication and debate. This paved the way for the third and final stages a series of debates to nurture the skills of the participants in research, astuteness, creative thinking and oratory.

    At the commencement of the tournament, the nine finalists who had earlier been split into Groups 1, 2 and 3 duelled like titans over three debates the last of which was a round of impromptu motions randomly picked on the spot by the finalists. After the preliminaries, the victors from the three groups were pitted against each other in a final three rounds of debates on topics ranging from politics and society to sports and tourism.

    An NYSC representative, Mr Sola Bolaji, commended the corps members whose zeal to impact their immediate environment gave birth to the The-Bait contest. He encouraged students to maximise such opportunities whenever they present themselves.

    Lawal Kabirat of Rex Varsity Comprehensive College, Osogbo, emerged winner of the tourney with a cumulative average of 89 per cent. Oyelade Adedoyin of Adventist High School and Ogungbe Blessing of Goodness Comprehensive College, Ikire, emerged as first and second runners-up with 84 and 64 per cent. Plaques were awarded to the winners in addition to electronic gadgets and books

    The other students were awarded certificate, of participation and the winning schools got books.

    State Coordinator of The-Bait, in Chisom Ojukwu thanked God, members of the organising committee, NYSC, OSBC and the Osun State Government for the success of the project.

  • Customs destroys N103m frozen turkey

    Customs destroys N103m frozen turkey

    About 16,180 cartons of frozen products worth N103,547,955 were yesterday destroyed at Arapaja dump site in Ibadan by the Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service.

    The smuggled frozen products were seized on Saturday by the command crack team, led by DSP Olajogun, at Orile-Ilugun in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.

    Addressing reporters at the dump site, the Command Area Controller, Richard Oteri, said the smugglers brought in the frozen products for the Yuletide, adding that the driver of the vehicle conveying the products abandoned the vehicle and fled on sighting the customs team.

    Explaining that consumption of frozen products is dangerous to health, Oteri said: “I warn Nigerians against the consumption of frozen products. They are dangerous to health because of the method of preservation.”

    The products were buried and a caterpillar drove round the site to perfect the destruction.